Lotus Flowers and Cheap Chocolates
by Hoshi-Naito
Summary: Valentine's Day had not gone according to plan. If it had, Hinamori Amu would not be sitting in her room, folding paper lotus flowers and gorging herself on cheap chocolate. Will her bad day turn around when a certain stray shows up on her balcony?


_**This lovely little tidbit was born out of a conversation with a friend of mine. I was explaining that I had just taught myself how to make origami lotus flowers so that I could get some black origami paper and make black lotus flowers like the ones in Sherlock 1X02, the Blind Banker, for all of my Sherlockian friends. I also mentioned that I bought cheap chocolate on discount, since it is now after Valentine's Day. I sent her a picture of one of my lotus flowers sitting on top of my chocolate box and said, "Lotus Flowers and Cheap Chocolates—I feel like that could be the title of my autobiography." After she begged me not to call it that (as it sounds like a cheesy romance novel), I pondered what she would do if I did, just to see her squirm, then said, "I should totally write a fanfic by that title." And so, she dared me to do it. She picked the ship, though I had veto power. (I shot down a few that wouldn't work well or that I felt were over-done when it comes to Valentine's Day fics.) This is the result of that dare. Hope you had a happy Cheap Chocolate Day!**_

_**Lotus Flowers and Cheap Chocolates**_

A pale hand shoved rosy strands back for the third time in under five minutes. Her bangs were getting too long again.

_I really need a haircut, _she thought, sighing in frustration as she yanked open the top drawer of her desk, fishing around for one of her barrettes.

"Ah-ha!"

A triumphant grin graced her face for a few moments as her hand finally collided with a small metal hair accessory.

Fingers twisted through pink tresses as she pulled the offending hair back and slipped the barrette into place. Her temporary distraction now secured in place, nimble fingers returned to the task at hand.

_Once… twice… three times… flip, once more… fold corners… push and pull over._

Hinamori Amu swore that if she ever saw another origami lotus again after this, it would be far too soon. Only _her _little sister would volunteer to make 100 paper lotus flowers by tomorrow for the party her vocal coach was holding without actually knowing how to make them.

_Who even needs 100 lotus flowers?! That's way too many!_

A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth and her eyebrows furrowed in a combination of frustration and concentration on the task at hand. Her eyebrow ticked slightly as she remembered the hour she had spent attempting to teach Ami how to make the blossoms, only for the younger girl to give up after she ripped the first 13 sheets of practice paper.

"_Please, best big sister in the whole wide world?" Ami's lower lip was quivering, her eyes big and intentionally sad._

"_Ami! I am not going to do this for you. _You_ committed to making the decorations for the party, and it's your responsibility." Amu scolded, arms folding across her chest._

_She could feel her resolve cracking as her little sister's eyes began to fill with tears, her face flushed and her lip quaking even harder. "But—but I promised that I would have them all for tomorrow, and I'm just so bad at this! I'll never get them done!"_

"_Perhaps you should have thought of that _before_ you volunteered." The pinkette quirked an eyebrow at the younger girl._

"_I know, and I promise I won't do it again, but please—you've got to help me out! Everyone will be mad at me if I don't follow through with it!"_

Another sigh slipped between her lips. If there was one thing her sister was good at, it was getting her way, which shouldn't come as a surprise to Amu, as she had been there to witness the mini fashion shoots and recitals her parents held for the girl when she was small. Now eleven, Ami had honed her manipulation skills, and, unfortunately for her, Amu was not immune.

And so, here she was, folding paper lotus number 37.

Amu allowed her head to droop forward, planting her face firmly on her desk.

_I've been doing this for hours, and I'm not even half way there! At this rate, I'll be listening to Ami whine for weeks about how her vocal instructor was _so_ disappointed in her for not keeping her word._

The deep-rooted groan was muffled by her face's wooden resting place. Her head flopped back up as her hand reached for the heart-shaped box to her right. Pale fingers plucked a single chocolate from the box, raising it to her lips and popping it into her mouth. Amu knew she ought to hold off—she had already eaten too many of the chocolates, and they weren't even that good anyway. She supposed that that was to be expected considering how little she paid for them.

The disgustingly cute glittery fuchsia box had come from the store not too far from her home. She had purchased it yesterday after school, figuring she could drown her sorrows in cheap chocolate.

Valentine's Day had not gone according to plan.

Amu had spent the entire night before making chocolates for all of her school friends and an extra special batch for one Hotori Tadase. Amu couldn't help but snort. Tadase's chocolates had seemed the most obligatory of all of them, if she were to be honest.

The two of them had been in a— well, she wasn't sure if she could really call it a relationship, as they had been "together" since they were only twelve, but they had never really progressed past the occasional "date"—for five years. Amu had hoped that if she tried extra hard to impress him with her chocolates, then dropped a few not-so-subtle hints about how long they had been "together", he might actually get the hint that she was sick of this pseudo-relationship they had going on and either make a move or break up with her. At least then she would know where they stood.

After spending the entire day trying to get his attention—only for him to cut her off when she tried to give him the treats to inform her that he had to get to class or had a student body council meeting to attend—Amu had abandoned her plans.

It figured that the boy who had once aspired to be king of the world would become class president, but that didn't mean that he had to neglect his old friends in the process. Tadase had tried to convince the Guardians—as they still referred to themselves when they were feeling nostalgic—to join him on the council as a means of reuniting them, but they all had busy schedules that didn't allow for it. Kukai was captain of the soccer team and played several other sports; when Nagihiko wasn't leading the basketball team, he was at dance classes; Rima was one of the hosts of the school's news program, specializing in witty jokes that spiced up the morning announcements; Kairi had kendo; Yaya had ballet; and Amu herself had taken up rhythmic gymnastics. Still, each of them still made time for their friends, so why couldn't her so-called boyfriend make time for her?

Speaking of rhythmic gymnastics, she really needed to stop eating that chocolate. Her trainer would have her head if she found out. She had regionals in just under a month and gaining weight was not going to help her with all of those flips and turns.

Amu stuck her tongue out, imagining that her trainer was watching, but she put the box away anyhow. The last thing she wanted was the queasy feeling that accompanied vigorous exercise after eating too much junk food. She might have had a harder time stopping if the chocolates were of better quality. Honestly, the sweets she had made were far better, but eating the chocolates meant for Tadase would have left the bitter taste of failure on her tongue.

Golden orbs narrowed as she spotted the transparent red baggie tied off with a ribbon the color of her eyes resting on her dresser, where she had carelessly tossed it earlier. _A bitter taste indeed._

If she were being completely honest with herself, Amu knew that she wasn't even all that upset that things between her and Tadase hadn't worked out. Truthfully, she was more upset that she had to infer this, rather than being able to talk to him about it. Strange as it sounds, she would rather he had just flat-out rejected her. At least then she would have gotten closure.

Amu's ears perked up as a faint creak reached them.

"You know, one of these days my dad is going to see you, and I'll laugh when the police show up to haul you off to jail," Amu chimed, smirk practically audible.

"As if you'd ever let anyone arrest me," came the reply.

"Amu—nyan!"

Amu giggled, embracing the small creature as it flew into her arms. "I've missed you too, Yoru."

Sometimes, Amu could hardly believe that Yoru was still around. Most of her friends' charas had disappeared by now, so it was nothing short of astonishing that the twenty-two year old still had his.

"Where are the others—nyan?"

"They're all downstairs with Chise. Ami is practicing for her next recital."

Amu was proud to say that Ami had taken the position of Queen of the Guardians last year, though unlike Amu, she relished wearing the Guardians' cape. The first couple of days she even slept with it on—refusing to take it off except for her evening bath. As opposed to how Amu had been shocked and confused when her eggs appeared, Ami was thrilled, as she knew exactly what the colorful egg was. The day after it had appeared, a small, rainbow-haired chara in a shimmering outfit complete with angel wings and a glitter-covered microphone hatched. Amu had initially thought that Chise was a bit too flashy for her tastes, but eventually had warmed to the little creature upon seeing how happy her sister was to finally have her own chara.

"Thanks, Amu—nyan!" Yoru cheered, tail twitching, flying down the stairs to join Ran, Mikki, Su, Dia, and Chise at the private performance Ami was giving them.

"So, how has your Valentine's Day been?" the blue-haired man inquired.

Amu simply groaned, dropping her head down onto her arms.

"That good, huh?" Ikuto joked, walking over to plop down on Amu's bed, sitting on the end closest to the desk where Amu sat.

"Boys are stupid," she mumbled, turning her head enough to look at him.

Ikuto chuckled. "Kiddy King do something to upset you?"

"I spent all day trying to give him his chocolates, only for him to cut me off and rush away every time. I am so done with this," Amu whined, sulking.

Long fingers stretched out to smooth down rosy locks. "You say that now, but come Monday, Tadase will have realized what day it was. He'll come in full of apologies for blowing you off, and you'll forgive him, just like you always do."

"No."

"No?" he inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, technically you're right. I will forgive him. But that doesn't mean I'm going to keep doing this. Tadase cares way more about his position as class president than dating me, and that's fine. I'm not mad at him for having other priorities. I'm mad at him for pretending that I'm one of them when I'm not. I would honestly rather just break things off and continue being friends with him then keep trying to maintain a relationship that neither party really wants anymore," she explained.

"Wow. Amu-chan is breaking up with Kiddy King?" The smirk practically overtook his face.

Amu sat, blinking. "Chan?"

"That's what he calls you, isn't it?"

Amu rolled her eyes. "Yes, it just sounded weird coming from you. We dropped the suffixes a long time ago."

"Strange that your boyfriend is still using the same one as most of your friends," Ikuto pointed out.

Amu frowned. "Yeah, that's been bothering me for a while now. It's like he doesn't feel that we're close enough for him to use anything more affectionate than -chan."

"If it's been bothering you for a while now, then why are you still with him?" he challenged.

"I honestly couldn't tell you," she admitted.

"What's up with all of the paper flowers, by the way?" Ikuto asked, motioning to the origami that littered her desk. "Is this some strange way of coping with the inevitable breakup?"

Amu scowled, glaring at the black-clad bluenet before her. "No. My little sister, who apparently sucks at origami, volunteered to make 100 of these before tomorrow. Guess who's stuck making them for her?"

"How many have you got left to make?"

"Seventy-three."

Ikuto cringed. "Ouch. Want some help? I've got no plans for the rest of the night."

Amu's eyebrows shot up in slight shock. "_You_ know how to make paper lotus flowers?"

Ikuto rolled his eyes, but gave her a good-natured grin. "Yes. When we were younger, Utau really wanted to make them, but she couldn't figure out how, so I learned how to make them so that I could teach her."

Amu couldn't stop the warm smile that pulled at the corners of her lips. "That's actually pretty sweet of you. And yeah, if you don't mind, I'd really appreciate it."

"Always the tone of surprise." Ikuto snatched up a stack of the colorful origami paper, beginning the necessary folds.

"So, how long are you back for?" Amu asked, curious as to how long Ikuto would be in town. Ikuto was part of a world-renowned travelling orchestra that he had joined while looking for his father.

Amu internally cringed as she thought back to the broken look on Ikuto's face during one of his previous visits. After years of searching, Ikuto had finally tracked his father down to a small town somewhere in Eastern Europe—Amu couldn't remember where exactly, the entire experience had been too emotional for her to remember the details—but what he had found was not what he expected. Tsukiyomi Aruto was on his deathbed after contracting an incurable disease. A lifetime of wondering and searching, and Ikuto had only gotten seven weeks with his father before the older man passed away.

"Three weeks this time, then another three months on the road."

Amu couldn't help but frown.

One blue eyebrow arched up. "Something wrong?"

'It's just… three months feels like a long time."

A teasing smirk stretched across his face. "Aw, does Amu-koi miss me when I'm gone?"

Amu bit back her annoyance at the "koi"—he was NOT going to bait her this time—shooting him a disappointed look. "I'm serious, Ikuto. It feels like you're always travelling these days. Don't you ever miss home?"

The smirk fell, and Ikuto looked a bit caught off guard. "I—of course I do." His eyebrows furrowed, the corners of his lips pulling down slightly. "Every time I think about you or Utau, I wish I was back here with the two people I care about most, but travelling around has also been good for me. Getting space from my stepfather and Easter has helped me move forward."

"What's it like?" Amu asked quietly, eyes avoiding his gaze by focusing on the piece of paper she was folding. "The travelling, I mean."

Ikuto gave her a small smile and began to tell her his favorite memories from the five years he had been travelling—memories of beautiful places, vibrant people, and delicious foods he had sampled from all over.

Long after the sun had set, Amu's eyes were full of awe as she focused entirely on the tale her friend was spinning, momentarily forgetting the half-folded flower before her. "Wow, it sounds like travelling is a lot of fun!"

Ikuto tried to maintain a straight face, frequently breaking eye contact. "You could always come with me and find out for yourself," he paused, "After you graduate, that is."

Amu's eyes nearly doubled in size, and her mouth fell open a bit. "W—what makes you think I would want to travel with you?!" She could feel her cheeks burning.

Ikuto relaxed a bit upon seeing the flush spread across her face. "Because you're Amu. You love going to new places and trying new things, and you prefer to have a friend there with you when you do so."

"I—uh," she started, but was unable to grasp any other words.

Seeing that she would need some time to process his offer, Ikuto decided to calm her down by changing the subject. "Are you going to finish that one?" he asked, pointing at the half-made lotus sitting in front of her.

"Oh, right," she stuttered, rushing to finish the flower. "How many have we got left to make, anyhow?"

"Actually, I think that's the last one."

Amu's head snapped toward him. "Really?!"

"See for yourself," Ikuto said, indicating the piles of flowers lying about. "One hundred flowers in five colors means twenty for every color, and we have twenty of all except the color you're finishing up right now."

"Alright!" Amu cheered, tossing the last lime green lotus into the proper pile and punching the air with her other arm. "We're done! Thanks so much for all the help! I would have been up all night finishing these by myself!"

Ikuto shot her a smile. "No problem. Glad I could help. Now if you'll excuse me," he paused to yawn and stretch, "I think it's time for me to go to bed."

Amu giggled, mentally comparing him to a cat. "Of course, I'll go get Yoru."

Ikuto watched as Amu quietly stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her. Ami would already know that Ikuto was here because of Yoru, and her mother would have been fine with the older boy being there so long as he wasn't staying the night, but if her dad found a man in his daughter's room, he would freak out, kick Ikuto out of the house, and ground Amu for life.

Amu turned into the living room and warmth blossomed in her chest at the sight before her. Ami lay draped across the couch, microphone having fallen out of her hand and onto the floor at some point. Lying on her stomach were six small creatures, all fast asleep. Not wanting to wake them all, she tip-toed across the room and carefully picked the small cat creature up, cradling him in in the crook of her arm.

When Amu returned to her room, she found Ikuto inspecting the small red baggie in his hand.

"Are these the ones you make for Kiddy King? His loss, they look delicious."

Amu paused for a moment, thinking. "Take them."

One of Ikuto's eyebrows shot up as he turned to look at her. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. Just looking at the stupid things is irritating me right now, but throwing them away would be a total waste. I didn't spend all that time on them for them to be tossed out. Someone might as well enjoy them, and since I didn't make you any because I didn't know you were in town, it might as well be you. Chocolate is your favorite, after all." Amu shrugged, handing him Yoru.

"Thanks," he mumbled, taking his chara from the girl. "Oh!" Remembrance dawned on his face. "I almost forgot!"

Ikuto sat Yoru and the chocolates on the bag, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and fishing something out of it. He lifted two small slips of paper to eye-level with Amu. "What do you think?"

Amu began to squeal before catching herself and slapping her hands over her mouth. "Where did you _get_ those?!" she whisper-yelled.

In his hand were two tickets to the sold-out Red Masque concert scheduled for the next Saturday. Ikuto had introduced her to the rock group two years ago, and she had been a huge fan ever since. When she heard that they were coming to her area, Amu had scoured the internet for tickets, but to no avail. Every ticket had been sold within five minutes of when sales opened and the only tickets anyone else stood a chance at getting were being re-sold for more than twice what they originally cost. Amu did not have that kind of money, unfortunately.

His lips turned up in a smug grin. "I pulled a few favors. So, I take it you want to go?"

"Of course I do!" She asserted.

"Good, because I would have been rather disappointed if you had said no. Break up with Kiddy King by then and I might even buy you dinner as well," he teased, winking at her.

"Are—are you asking me out on a date?" Amu asked, completely stunned.

"That _was_ kind of my intention, yes."

Amu tried to bite back the smile that threatened to overtake her face. "Actually… I think I'd like that."

Ikuto gave her a luminous smile.

"But," she started, "You'll have to get permission from my parents first." Amu shot him what was meant to look like an innocent smile, but she looked more like a cute imp than an angel.

The smile fell off of his face and Ikuto began to panic internally. Amu's father took overprotective to a whole new level. Gaining his permission to date Amu was going to be a near impossible task, given the age difference.

"So, you'll be coming over for dinner Friday night to meet them, right? Good. See you later, Ikuto-_koi_!" Amu teased, tucking Yoru and the chocolates into his arms and pushing him back out onto her balcony, closing the door behind him.

"Good_ night!_" And with that, she drew the curtains, leaving him standing there.

Amu could not wipe the smile off her face for the rest of the night.

Valentine's Day had not gone according to plan… but maybe, just maybe, that wasn't such a bad thing.


End file.
